During a blast of winter weather that is almost never seen anymore, a Texas winter storm has caused at least two deaths from the cold, while millions of others remained without power in temperatures below freezing. People are trying to restore power to homes, but offices in Houston are still lit up. This winter storm was heading to the Great Lakes and New England, but left behind record lows and warnings of wind chill. More cold weather was predicted on Tuesday and Wednesday along with a cold front from Texas to the Appalachian states.

The worst power outages have been in Texas, interfering with over four million houses and businesses. Many people have been struggling to stay warm, as their houses were not meant to retain heat. Essentially, almost everyone who lives here had no warning and are stuck wherever they were, no major stores open, and no lights working on the roads. Many people don’t even have water because of frozen or burst pipes. Some people have had to get water by gathering and melting snow.

Conditions have forced Harris county to try to get over 8,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine to people after the county’s public health facility lost power and its backup generator. Officials have deposited doses at three hospitals, a university, and the county jail. County judge Lina Hidalgo believes no vaccines were lost. Weather conditions have delayed vaccine shipments. State officials have said in an official statement that Texas, originally supposed to receive over 400,000 COVID-19 doses this week, wouldn’t expect deliveries until Wednesday at the earliest.

At the last count, 1.37 million people were without power. The other three to four million are having to conserve power to help prevent more power cuts. However, in office buildings in Houston, power is still up and running, causing outrage. Harris county judge Lina Hidalgo said, “We’re facing all kinds of frustrating situations. We’re asking folks to conserve energy. At last count, 1.37 million people in our region are without power,” in an interview with The Guardian. Furthermore, there have been multiple reported deaths from car crashes on icy roads in multiple states. Many families, in fact, have no water or power.

The second challenge is the carbon monoxide poisoning. “… If you need to be in your car to warm up, that’s fine but you’ve got to do it outside,” Hidalgo points out. If you warm up in your car, you need to do it outside, or risk carbon monoxide poisoning.

Contrary to popular belief, climate change is just as dangerous cold as it is hot. Official scientists such as James Hansen, Roy Spencer, and many more have multiple theories to prove the existence of global warming and the immediate action that needs to be taken in order to prevail safety.